


someone to come home to

by iwasfollowingyou



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Episode Related, Episode: s04e01-02 20 Hours in America, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Short & Sweet, i just wanted some soft sweet boys, not canon divergent because you can't prove it didn't happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-11 23:54:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19120309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwasfollowingyou/pseuds/iwasfollowingyou
Summary: after 20 hours in america, josh finally gets home





	someone to come home to

The apartment was dark, every light turned off, when Josh finally stepped inside. He shut the door behind him and leaned heavily against it, taking a deep breath in. It had only been a week since he had been home, but after the stress of campaigning and the absolute chaos of the past day, it felt as if it had been months. He could practically hear his bed calling out for him. The effort that it would take to walk the short distance to the bedroom and take off his clothes was a daunting task, but his _bed_. And Sam. _Sam_. That was enough to give him the motivation to move. He lifted himself up off the door, toed off his shoes and hung up his jacket, and walked as carefully as he could through the dim living room. The twilight had slowly given way to dawn, the shadows gray now instead of pure black. Josh could just make out the shapes of the furniture as his eyes adjusted.

He took another step forward, driving his foot directly into the leg of the coffee table.

“ _Shit!_ ” he hissed, jumping back and hopping up and down a few times until the pain subsided and the initial thought of _Fuck I just broke my toe_ faded. He heard movement on the couch and froze in place.

“Josh?” came Sam’s groggy, confused voice.

A wave of relief washed over Josh, all injury forgotten as a smile made its way onto his face. Sam sat up. The blanket that had been covering him dropped down onto his legs. Josh’s eyes had adjusted enough now that he could make out Sam’s face; his lips were slightly parted, and his hair was a complete mess, sticking up in every direction. He blinked slowly as he returned to consciousness.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Josh stepped over to him. Sam pushed himself to his feet, the blanket falling to the floor, and wrapped his arms tightly around Josh’s waist. Josh returned the gesture immediately. Sam seemed to shrink as he tucked himself against Josh’s chest and pressed his face into Josh’s neck. Josh held him close, closing his eyes and dropping his head against Sam’s, hiding his face against his hair. He smelled like the White House and like their apartment; he hadn’t showered since getting home. Josh wondered how long he had even been home for, if he had gotten back at a reasonable time after the fundraiser, or if he had been kept around for hours like they often were.

They stayed like that until Josh’s tired legs threatened to give out from under him, and he nudged Sam back down onto the couch. As soon as they were sitting, Sam wrapped himself back around Josh, arms thrown haphazardly around his shoulders and a leg colliding painfully with Josh’s thigh as Sam got situated. The bed would have been much more comfortable, and more logical, too, but Josh couldn’t manage to care. It was the first time he had been with Sam in a week. He needed a few minutes.

"Missed you," Sam mumbled. "So much."

“I know, baby. I missed you too. Were you waiting up for me?” he asked softly, running a hand through Sam’s hair. Sam nodded.

“Trying to.”

“When did you get home?”

He shrugged. “Dunno. Late. Mal drove me home.”

“Could’ve just gone to sleep,” Josh chided gently. “You needed it.”

“Wanted to see you.”

“You’re seeing me now." He hugged Sam closer. "Bedtime?”

Sam nodded again, but neither of them moved. Josh pressed a kiss to Sam’s temple, and Sam sighed happily. It had been too long. Even a day without Sam felt like an eternity; a week had been unbearable. Coupled with the fact that he was supposed to have seen Sam the previous day, when the rest of the staff had gotten home, but some higher power had something against him, it had been entirely _too long_. The stress of the last twenty hours weighed on him like a lead jacket, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with Sam and sleep for as long as possible.

“Sam?” he murmured. Sam hummed in response. “We should probably go to bed, right?” He nudged Sam away so that he could stand up. Sam trailed at his heels as he headed into the bedroom. Sam was still in his work clothes, wrinkled from falling asleep on the couch. He fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, and Josh smiled fondly as he pulled Sam towards him and untied his tie. He pressed soft kisses to Sam’s lips with each button he undid, until Sam was giggling quietly and shaking his head. Once he was out of his clothes, he disappeared into the bathroom, and Josh got to work on undressing himself.

It wasn’t until he was out of the clothes that he realized how absolutely disgusting he was; wearing the same thing for an entire day while sweating in soybean fields, riding in the back of pickup trucks, hanging out in bars, and taking trains and buses had not been kind to him. He balled up his clothes as tightly as he could and shoved them into the hamper — he could deal with them later. A shower sounded nice, but it also sounded like a lot of effort, and they needed to change the sheets anyway. A couple more hours wouldn’t hurt. He changed into a fresh pair of boxers and a t-shirt, then got into bed.

As soon as he hit the mattress, a soft groan escaped his lips. He couldn’t remember the last time his bed had felt quite this good. It usually felt nice after long days at the White House or dealing with congressmen up on the Hill, and especially so after trips, but it had never been such a huge relief to get under the covers and close his eyes.

He heard Sam come back into the bedroom a moment later, but it was too much work to even open his eyes. The sheets tugged as Sam pulled them back, then the mattress dipped under his weight as he got into bed. Josh rolled towards him instinctually, and Sam’s arms found their way around him immediately. Josh sighed contentedly and draped an arm over Sam’s hip. He smelled like mouthwash, now (he could never go to bed without brushing his teeth, no matter how exhausted he was), and Josh leaned in blindly to kiss his lips before settling back down. Sam kissed his forehead lightly.

“Long day, hm?”

Josh nodded. “You wouldn’t believe.”

“Me too.”

“Survived, though.” He pressed a kiss against Sam’s collarbone, finding his favorite spot easily even with his eyes closed.

“So did you.” He felt Sam’s smile against his forehead as he kissed it again. “Gotta tell me all about yours when you wake up.”

“Work today?”

Sam shook his head. “Leo’s not gonna let me into the building at least until tomorrow. Maybe even a couple days.”

Josh laughed softly. “I’m okay with that.” He yawned widely and tightened his arm around Sam. “G’night, Sammy.”

“Night, baby.” Sam leaned down to kiss his lips sweetly. “I love you.”

“Love you more.”

They fell silent after that, just the sound of their breathing in the otherwise quiet room. A car drove past outside, the first people heading to work. Josh cuddled in closer to Sam, drinking in Sam’s warm skin pressed against his. Sam’s chest was moving up and down steadily, soft noises falling from his lips, but even in his sleep, he held Josh tighter. Josh let out a long breath and finally let his exhaustion overtake him.

He never wanted to have to go through that entire ordeal ever again, but if he still got to come home to Sam, he didn’t think he would mind hitchhiking across the entire continent.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this one super quickly because i needed some soft boys (and i've thought about it multiple times but never actually bothered to write it down) very short but sweet enough right? if you liked it make sure you leave kudos and comments :D


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